Our last week of camp was filled with exciting events and unforgettable memories.
The week began with the kick-off to our three-day annual event, The Olympics. This breakout is always unique and dramatic. This year, the Senecas were broken into two groups – team captains and decathletes (more on that later). The decathletes were dressed in large, Transformer-style robot costumes and entered the Field House amongst laser lights and smoke. The captains were dressed military-style and had to “complete a mission” (a competition). Upon completion, the captains and decathletes were able to select from a pre-organized team of their choosing. Once every team was sorted, the games began.
Much like Green and White, Olympics are filled with morning-to-night activities. Everyone participates and contributes. What makes this competition different, though, is that the camp is split into eight teams instead of two; with each team representing a specific country. On night one, each team creates a plaque – a tongue-and-cheek take on their country, which is placed on the large scoreboard. At the end of every day, the scoreboard is updated so the teams can see their ranking.
The first full day of competition saw a myriad of events. Some, like frisbee, beach soccer, fencing and home run derby, involve specific campers while others – like the 4×400 race involve every team member. Madagascar took a defining lead by the end of the first day. The next day’s competition included an all-team polar bear plunge, the marathon (four people from each team run two-miles), the “Decathlete dash” and the Grand Marathon – which the whole team participates in.
The final evening introduced the song and cheer presentation. Each team had to make up a song & cheer and the whole team learned them. Teams are rated on performance, creativity, and energy. The teams also presented their banners – a beautiful representation of their country’s signature characteristics. These are judged as well, and the three scores become a big part of the overall score. Big props go to the eight Seneca Decathletes, who competed in an additional ten, grueling events representing their team. Congratulations to Mason T. who earned First Place Decathlete.
Once all was said and done, the big winner of Olympics 2022 was Team Netherlands!
After The Olympics came to a close, camp went into wind-down mode. The kids got in their last moments at the lake, the pool, the ropes course, the woodshop, the archery range and more. The tournaments came wrapped up and the campers all took their final rounds at Tramp Ball!
We ended the season with our annual banquet dinner. This year’s theme was “Minions”. The Algonquins and their staff created a tasty “yellow food” themed menu, decorated the dining hall Minion style and dressed as characters, while the rest of camp wore their sharpest outfits. Thank you to our Algonquins for planning an awesome Banquet! Following Banquet was the Programmys (program awards) and the Tobias Maher Film Festival whereby the heads of programming gave awards to the campers they felt demonstrated hard work and dedication during their program time. During Film Fest, many film campers took the stage presenting their masterpieces. The top four Films can be viewed on the MKN Totem site. The Best Picture award went to a new spin on some classics, “Star Wars vs. Harry Potter” By Ari G. Well done Ari!
On the last night of camp, we held our final huddle, which was about Community. Each and every person who is a part of this amazing summer community was recognized for making Camp Mah-Kee-Nac the very special place that it is. At the end of the Huddles, the Senecas passed a flame from the Huddle fire to the rest of camp holding candles. Each person had a moment to reflect on their summer and make one final wish before we blew our candles out. The last night of camp is always bitter sweet as campers say “until next summer” to brothers and friends, but also feel fortunate and grateful for the time they all spent together here at Camp Mah-Kee-Nac.
Thank you all for an EXTRAORDINARY 2022 and we cannot wait for Summer 2023!
Be sure to still check out MKNTotem.com, as we’ll be posting the 2022 Summer video soon!
